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Last year my trek to base camp from Tibet was part driving and part trekking due to the Chinese restrictions but it was still bloody hard and the altitude sickness on the final leg nearly defeated me. I really thought, after stringing my prayer flags on a pole to flap blessings to the Gods and placing ladybugs in honour of my Beautiful Girl and Kyle, that I could well die right there in the shadow of the the highest mountain in the world. The hike is tough but the rewards immense.

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Last year my trek to base camp from Tibet was part driving and part trekking due to the Chinese restrictions but it was still bloody hard and the altitude sickness on the final leg nearly defeated me. I really thought, after stringing my prayer flags on a pole to flap blessings to the Gods and placing ladybugs in honour of my Beautiful Girl and Kyle, that I could well die right there in the shadow of the the highest mountain in the world. The hike is tough but the rewards immense.

So why the hell am I here again..On a tougher, 14 day trek? All walking - not a support vehicle or a donkey in sight!

As your ramshackle city becomes an ever-decreasing dot from my seat in the aircraft that is carrying me to the sophisticated heat-scorched streets of Delhi, I find it hard to know how to say goodbye to you Kathmandu .

It’s 5am here in Kathmandu and this crazy bustling city is on the verge of erupting into the usual morning riot but for now, from my bed, through the open windows all is silent other than the birds announcing the day and the odd sleepy dog barking half-heartedly. Gentle light filters through my curtains and I gratefully feel the only cool air there is likely to be today on my naked skin.

They say mountain life is unpredictable and that the mountains themselves are goddesses - powerful, brooding and vengeful but with a beauty and benevolence so great that when they choose to reveal themselves from shrouds of frozen clouds, mere mortals can do nothing except fall to their knees and weep.

No one should show anger or speak unkindly in their shadows as to do so will incur the devastating and destructive wrath of the mountain goddesses.

Last year my trek to base camp from Tibet was part driving and part trekking due to the Chinese restrictions but it was still bloody hard and the altitude sickness on the final leg nearly defeated me. I really thought that I could well die right there in the shadow of the the highest mountain in the world. So why the hell am I here again, on a tougher, 14 day trek?